Legend of Zelda: Ballad of Seas
by SweetSereneShadows
Summary: Based off a reddit thread. Link has failed, and Hyrule has been almost entirely submerged underwater. But the land is quite resilient, and life learns to adapt to this new flooded world. But Hyrule has still been left without a Hero.
1. Prologue: A Second Calamity

NOTE: based off this image: r/zelda/comments/730jvm/breath_of_the_wind_flooded_hyrule_concept_map/?utm_content=comments&utm_medium=hot&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=zelda

Prologue - A Second Calamity

 _It all happened so fast. Link swore he was going to go to Zora's Domain next to help with Vah Ruta. But he got distracted, forgot what he was supposed to be doing. And now it's too late to fix his mistake._  
 _When he saw the Red-Maned Lynel on Ploymous Mountain, Link realized that he couldn't possibly take it down. Self-preservation kicked in, and he fled, promising himself that he'd come back when he was stronger, when he didn't have to fear the Lynel._  
 _Now, by Ralis Pond, watching the water gush across the land below, the guilt overwhelmed him. He'd been tasked with saving Hyrule, and he'd failed. He had let Zelda down, he had let the king down, and he had let all of Hyrule down. Then another pang of guilt. He'd let the other Champions down too. Urbosa, Daruk, Revali, and Mipha - he'd let them all down._  
 _The water showed no signs of stopping, either. Vah Ruta's wrath - or perhaps it was panic - continued, slowly engulfing more and more of Hyrule. For a few moments, Link was mesmerized by the swirling waters, bringing him some momentary peace. His mind, in its calmed state, wandered and briefly reminisced. He subconsciously closed his eyes, the sound of the water almost soothing him._  
 _Until he was jolted awake by the feeling of water at his feet, at his ankles, soaking into his leggings. With horror, he realized that his momentary lapse in concentration had allowed the water to come closer. He scrambled to get to his feet, for fear that the water's sheer speed would pull him under once it got deep enough. But as his rotten luck would have it, he'd chosen to sit on the wrong side of Ralis Pond. A mad dash towards the nearest piece of land proved futile, as by the time he'd gotten there the water was up to his waist. Link strained against the current, but it proved too strong and whisked him away, towards where the Lanayru Tower once stood._  
 _Link's body wasn't found until several weeks later, washing up on the shores nearby where Kakariko once was. The ones who found him didn't recognize him - not by name, anyways. They knew him as the kind young man who'd saved them from monsters once or twice. They honored him as best they could, with a sombre burial on what came to be known as "Pierre Island". The grave had no name, as they'd never heard him speak it, so it was simply marked "Our Silent Protector, may his spirit find rest in the afterlife."_  
 _Hyrule was once again without a Hero._


	2. Chapter One: Every Day the Same

Chapter One - Every Day the Same

It has been two millennia since the flooding of Hyrule. Those who were alive at the time of the flood are now long dead, and life has adapted to the new terrain. Many of the monsters have also adapted, either to living on the few pieces of land left or to being entirely aquatic creatures themselves. There are hushed whispers of Lynels lying in wait beneath the waves, still using the same weapons they used when the lands were still above water.  
The Hylians have also learned to adapt. Marinas are spread across some of the larger islands, and some villages have been built/rebuilt. They have, over time, learned how to create ships of various sizes to allow them trading and travel. With the threat of new monsters and of monsters that have adapted to become seafaring, the Hylians have also learned how to create defenses, both for the ships and for the villages. Many bridges have been constructed between some of the closer islands, often the ones deemed too close to allow boats to safely pass through. Some Hylians choose to sail on their own, single-handedly manning their own ships for whatever goal they pursue. Others join with or form crews manning larger ships, either acting as traders or pirates or protectors. Still others choose to remain on land as farmers, shop owners, innkeepers, or other village-centric jobs.  
It was one of these villages, known as New Deya, that was home to a young Hylian by the name of Notu. Notu was, at first sight, a mostly unremarkable young man. Of course, such is the case with all the truly remarkable ones, and so naturally Notu does possess some remarkability. Unfortunately for him, it isn't the best kind of remarkability, nor is it one he's aware of. At the moment, Notu is under the same delusion that everyone around him is under - the calm belief that he was a completely normal young man. And for now, that's all he needs to know.  
He's sitting at a desk, reading one of the many books in his room by the flimsy flickering light of a candle. He's hardly moved an inch in several hours, with the exception of turning pages. The book is old, worn - its pages are yellowed, and the leather holding it together is softened by years - potentially decades or more - of being read. Notu himself has studied this book several times, almost to the point of memorizing every one of its features.  
A knock at the door to his room. Notu doesn't respond, too busy studying the book's contents meticulously. A second knock at the door, louder and more insistent. He sighs.  
"Yes, Father, I'm still awake." He knows what will come next. It's happened enough times that he could almost recite both his lines and his father's. Subconsciously, he mouths the words as his father speaks them.  
"Notu, you can't keep staying up so late. I know you want to understand that book of yours, but I need your help. Without Jazuk and Shisei, keeping our inn open is only barely possible."  
Jazuk. Notu's older brother. Jazuk hated being kept in the inn and the house. As soon as he was of age, he bought a small ship and announced he would become a trader. There was a glow in his eyes, a stark contrast to the dullness his eyes always held at the inn. Their father tried to be happy for Jazuk, but there was no hiding the sorrow in his eyes as he said goodbye. Notu was a young child at the time, though he was old enough to hear the place Jazuk wanted to go: Piaffe Marina. He hasn't seen Jazuk or heard anything about him since.  
And Shisei. Their mother. Notu didn't remember her. She disappeared when he was very young, too young to even speak. The only things he knows about her are from the stories Jazuk and their father told him. According to them, she was a very caring individual, someone who embodied the word "motherly". But she also had an adventurous streak, often manifesting in her taking a small boat and sailing off for a few hours, circling Wildwinds Isle. Then she'd return and sketch pictures of places she thought looked interesting. The sketches were hung up in the house, even now years after her disappearance. Jazuk and their father never liked talking about how she disappeared, or even when. Notu had just learned to not ask.  
A sigh from Notu, then the well-recited line: "I know, Father. But I never have time during the day to study it. Nighttime is the only chance I get." He doesn't have to see his father's face to know the expression on his face. Sorrow, empathy, guilt, and a number of others.  
"I'm sorry, Notu. But we need to keep the inn open, and I can't do that on my own." The same plea, always the same. Notu finds little enjoyment in the inn work, though unlike Jazuk he has no desire to become a trader. All Notu wants is to study, to understand, to learn. Unfortunately, the inn isn't performing quite as well as when his mother was around. During those days, Notu's father had several chests full of Rupees of various colors. Red, blue, purple, silver, even occasionally a gold. But now, these same chests are collecting dust, with more Rupees being taken out of them than being put in. The truth can't be avoided: Notu's mother was a large part of what had made the inn popular back then. Without her soft-spoken care and charisma, the inn simply isn't the same, and patrons could tell. Beyond that, it's quite difficult to tend to the needs of several patrons with only Notu and his father there.  
A heavy sigh from his father drags Notu from his thoughts. He knows what's coming next. This same discussion. Another conversation that's been had dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of times.  
"Notu, one day you'll have to take over this inn. One day my hands will be too frail to do much else than meekly gesture. And I've worked too hard to just see this place fall apart." A pause, and then his speech resumes. "Perhaps you should start looking for someone who could help you take care of it when you take over." Notu doesn't have the heart to tell his father that he has no romantic interest in anyone in New Deya, nor in settling down to take care of the inn. He never does. Instead he allows his father to continue.  
"I hope you aren't thinking of following in Jazuk's footsteps. I won't allow it." A spear of guilt and pity pierces his chest, perhaps not as sharply as the first time they had this conversation, but still sharp enough to cause him to wince. Notu doesn't want to believe that Jazuk is dead, never to be seen or heard from again. He could tell his father this, but he knows what the response will be, so instead he answers his father's question once more.  
"I'm not, Father. I promise you." The first few times they'd had this conversation, his father would sigh in relief at him saying this. But lately his father hasn't been so convinced. Perhaps that's owing to how similar Notu looks to how Jazuk did when he left. Even when they were younger, the village people loved pointing out how Notu and Jazuk looked so similar. The same shaggy blond hair, the same freckled faces from spending hours playing in the sun as children, and the same sky-blue eyes. The only thing that Notu doesn't have in common with how Jazuk looked is his glasses - due to the amount of time he spends reading at candlelight, Notu's vision has been poor for years. A few birthdays ago, his father presented him with a pair of brand new glasses. Notu hadn't learned until later just how much the glasses had cost his father.  
"I hope not. I can't lose another son. I won't." This was usually where the conversation ended, and Notu patiently waits for the sound of his father walking back to his room to go back to sleep. But not on this night. On this night in particular, his father still stands by the door. At first Notu thinks nothing of it, wondering if his father may just be admiring some of the sketches his mother had made long ago. After minutes pass, however, the change in routine begins to unnerve him, and he shifts nervously in his chair.  
"Father? Are you unwell?" Concern drips from every syllable as Notu's mind races, wondering why his father isn't yet going back to bed. At first there is a chilling silence, allowing Notu to realize just how quick his breathing has become. Then suddenly, a noise from behind the door, one that sends a chill down Notu's spine. A loud thud, as if something has hit the floor. Notu springs up from the chair and scrambles to his door.  
"Father!"


	3. Chapter Two: Memories

Chapter Two - Memories

Notu paces nervously outside the house, not daring to go inside. Totus, one of the only doctors in New Deya, had been alarmed at what Notu told him. "Your father should still be in perfect health", he'd said. So naturally Totus came to study his father, see what happened and why he suddenly collapsed.  
They've been in the house for a long time. Long enough that the sun is now beginning to rise, painting the sky in hues of red and gold. Notu only barely registers this, however, as his mind races with fear and anxiety. He knows he isn't ready to take over the inn, if his father doesn't make it. A shudder. He also doesn't want to think about that.  
Luckily he doesn't have much time to think about it, because suddenly the front door swings open. It's Totus, and his expression worries Notu. It's a look of fear, confusion, and pity. Notu can feel himself start fidgeting.  
"I wish I didn't have to tell you this," Totus says with a heavy sigh. Notu's mind races as he tries to figure out what Totus means.  
"Is... is he dead?" Notu can hear the shaking in his voice. But Totus shakes his head, a weary look in his eyes.  
"No, your father is not dead. He is dying, though. And I don't know what is killing him." The air takes on a sudden chill as Totus speaks.  
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Notu is either close to tears or panicking, he isn't sure which.  
"In all my years of treating people, I've never seen something like this. My closest guess is some kind of poison, but no poison I've ever seen has acted like this." Notu begins shaking. When he speaks, his voice is quavering. Definitely about to cry.  
"There has to be something I can do. He can't just die, I'm not ready." Totus' expression becomes pained.  
"I'm sorry. I don't even know how long he has left. Maybe a few months, maybe until tomorrow." But Notu doesn't hear him, can't hear him. All he can hear is "I'm sorry", over and over again, echoing louder and louder. He can't even feel the tears now streaking down the side of his face.  
Something inside him snaps. He doesn't know what happens next. All he knows is that suddenly he's standing by his father's bedside. It's what he sees there that wakes him from his mindless actions.  
His father's fingertips are a deep purple, and there are splotches of a lighter purple randomly spread on his hands. There are also lines of bright magenta seeming to overlap where his veins are. A few seconds pass, and Notu realizes with a sudden shudder that the splotches are growing larger, even as he stands watching. He is overcome with a feeling of dread and helplessness.  
Totus runs into the room, then stands at the doorway. He knows that Notu sees what is happening to his father. Notu turns around to look at Totus, and sees a face of pity.  
"I didn't want you to have to see this," Totus says, as if Notu is his father and he's been caught stealing from the cookie jar. It doesn't take long for Notu to figure out why.  
"You intend to wait until he dies to find out what… what _poison_ has caused this." Totus suddenly finds an interesting board of wood on the ground, nervously scratching and poking at it with his foot. Then he looks up.  
"I want to be able to make sure this doesn't hurt someone else. If I can study what happens to him, I can prevent it from happening to someone else. Maybe even create a medicine from it. But I fear that trying to study it while he's alive will cause him more pain." Totus' voice drips with the guilt he no doubt feels. But Notu isn't listening, refuses to. His voice is cold, enough so that it's surprising ice doesn't spill from his mouth.  
"So, let me see if I understand. One of the only doctors in New Deya intends to just sit here and let my father die." Totus cringes, as if Notu had slapped him across the face.  
"If I had a way to study the poisons and have him stay alive, I'd be jumping at the chance. But this isn't just some Hebra Wheat that's gotten infected. This is some mystery poison that I have never seen." Totus places great emphasis on the last two words, perhaps hoping they'll spark some empathy from Notu. This is, of course, in vain. Notu is in no mental state to be understanding. He pauses, as if he is thinking over his options. And indeed, he is.  
What are his options? Sure, he could try to run the inn, allow Totus to study his father's corpse once he dies. Or perhaps he could get a second opinion, though in all likelihood the opinion would be the same. But something in the back of Notu's mind whispers another idea. One that simultaneously frightens him and excites a part of him he'd never known existed.  
 _There are other lands out there, Notu. Surely someone out there can help your father? Seek them out, and maybe your father will live to see another day. But you can't tell Totus. You can't tell anyone.  
_ "Please, Notu. I understand that you don't want to let your father die." Totus' voice falters on the word "die", but he continues. His voice is quieter now, lower, more sombre.  
"I had a friend who had lost his mother. He said that sometimes he'd wake up and the memory of loss would hit him, and he'd just lay in bed wondering what happened to her." Totus sighs, as if a heavy weight had lodged itself in his chest.  
"But he had to move on. There was nothing he could do, and he had to accept that. That's why I became a doctor, Notu. I wanted to make sure nobody else would have to feel that helplessness, that emptiness, like my friend did. And I know you're going to say that it isn't fair that you have to feel like that, and I agree. But if that means saving potentially hundreds of people from being killed by this poison, don't you think it's worth it?"  
It's no use, though. The idea has already taken hold of Notu's mind. Even as Totus spoke, he was planning, considering his options and resources. He's not even fully aware of what Totus said.  
"I'm not going to just sit here uselessly and let my father die."  
"Then what are you going to do?"  
"I'm going to be useful. I'm going to save him." Notu looks Totus in the eyes, barely able to contain the resentment.  
"I'm going to do what you're refusing to." With that, Notu walks out of the room, leaving Totus standing there, half in shock. But Notu doesn't have time to think of what Totus' thoughts are. He has work to do.  
The first thing he does is find in his room a large bag, its once-rich brown leather now a light tan with crease marks all over. No telling how long he will be out at sea. He might be able to make some stops and restock. But he needs supplies to start off his journey.  
A glance through the kitchen, some carefully-selected items placed delicately into the bag, and Notu has food to last him a trip maybe to the Piaffe Marina. The same place Jazuk had intended to go. An image drifts into his mind, of Jazuk walking around the house, gathering up supplies. Much like how Notu is now doing. No time for such thoughts, though. There is work to be done.  
Notu walks back into his room. There, on his desk, just as he'd left it several hours ago. The book. The book he'd spent countless hours studying and trying to understand. Most people probably would have left it there, decided to come back to it once they returned. But Notu wasn't "most people", and so he grabs the book and gently adds it into the bag. Another glance at the desk, and he realizes that his notes had been left out of the book. His father's collapse had happened so suddenly that he completely forgot to put them back into the book, to keep them safe.  
He paces. Food, the book, his notes on the book. What else? Suddenly it hits him, along with a feeling of unease. Another book, maybe more. But those books were in Jazuk's room, the last time Notu had seen them. Notu and his father often avoided Jazuk's old room, as well as his mother's room. His father said it was better to avoid those rooms rather than wallow in the fact that they're gone.  
Still, Notu found himself walking down the hallway that led to his brother's room. It had been left almost entirely alone, with the exception of some cleanup being done here and there to keep the house from being a health risk. The lanterns hadn't been lit in years, and all the curtains in both his mother's room and Jazuk's had been drawn. Notu almost shivers, then scolds himself for doing so. _What, do you think the hallway's haunted or something? Stone Goddess, you're being ridiculous._ Nonetheless, dread hangs in his gut and on his shoulders as he steps closer and closer to Jazuk's room.  
The door to Jazuk's room stands in front of him now, and Notu hesitates to put his hand on the doorknob and enter. Another memory floats through his mind, this one of the look in Jazuk's eyes when he first told Notu about his dream of being a trader. This image is not so willing to be ignored as the previous one.  
" _Someday, I'm gonna do something cool. Just you wait and see." His brother had grinned, a big toothy grin.  
_ " _Aw, what's wrong with working at the inn?" Notu was still young enough that helping his father was a fun series of games, with names like "Who Can Mop the Floor the Fastest" and "How Shiny Can You Make the Tables". Jazuk grimaced, sticking his tongue out for dramatic effect.  
_ " _Bleh. It's so boring. The same thing every day. Clean the tables, clean the floor, wait around for the one or two people who come in. Nothing exciting happens anymore." A pause, then another grin as he continues. "Not for me. I'm gonna do something way cooler."  
_ " _Like what, Jazuk?" Curiosity replaced Notu's indignation. If Jazuk said something else was cooler, then surely it was.  
_ " _I'm gonna be a trader! I'll travel the world in a ship, and go wherever I want to! And maybe I'll fight some Lizalfos or Boko Fleets along the way! Maybe even a Sea Lynel!" These new names - "Lizalfos", "Boko Fleets", "Sea Lynel" - both excited and scared the young Notu. But his brother was happy, and that was what mattered.  
_ Notu awakes from his reminiscing to find himself standing in Jazuk's room. The room is still a mess. Of course it is. Jazuk was so frantic in his preparations, he didn't even bother to tidy up. Their father likely decided to leave it as it was, half out of the stubborn desire to avoid the room, and half because he hoped Jazuk would change his mind and turn back. But turn back he never did - they watched, waving, as his small ship disappeared behind the rest of the island.  
Notu's gaze sweeps over to the bookshelf. It's one of the few things that is actually somewhat tidy. Jazuk likely didn't bring any books with him, too excited to set out on his adventure. This makes it easier for Notu to find what he's looking for. He scans the shelves.  
"Ah. There it is. 'A Beginner's Guide to Boating: The Do's and Don'ts of the Sea'." Notu only half realizes that he's talking out loud. He's too busy focusing on his train of thought. _I don't know how to control a boat. If I'm not careful, I'll get myself killed. I can't help Father if I get myself killed._ This thought stirs him into motion, and he grabs the book off the shelf.  
With that, Notu takes a moment to look around Jazuk's room, at the chaos it had become the day Jazuk left. Miscellaneous items had been thrown onto the floor, some of which Notu only just now realizes he actually stepped on to get to the bookshelf. He silently hopes that Jazuk will forgive him for it.  
The moment ends, and Notu carefully steps around the items on the floor, making his way back to the door. As he prepares to leave the room, he takes one last glance around. One last glance at the room his brother had lived in. As he stands, he suddenly senses someone's presence standing in the doorway behind him.  
"So this is what his room looks like."


End file.
